Automatic creation and synchronization of graph database objects

ABSTRACT

A request is received to create a graph database from one or more relational databases. For each relational database, data objects in the relational database are identified. For each data object, a graph data object corresponding to the data object is created. The graph data object is linked to the data object. A set of associated data objects in the relational database are determined, and for each associated data object, an associated graph data object is created if a graph data object corresponding to the data object does not exist. For each created graph data object, a graph data relation object is created that represents a relationship between the graph data object and the associated graph data object. Created graph data objects, associated graph data objects, and graph data relation objects are stored in the graph database. The graph database is provided to one or more applications.

BACKGROUND

Data objects that represent enterprise concepts can be modeled and usedin enterprise applications. Data objects can be associated with otherdata objects. Accordingly, an association can model an inter-objectrelationship. Data objects can be persisted, for example, in arelational database. An association between two data objects can bestored, for example, as a foreign key relationship in the relationaldatabase.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure describes automatic creation and synchronizationof graph database objects. In an implementation, a request is receivedto create a graph database from one or more relational databases. Foreach relational database, a set of data objects stored in the relationaldatabase is identified. For each data object stored in the relationaldatabase: a graph data object that corresponds to the data object iscreated; the graph data object is linked to the data object using anidentifier of the data object; a graph data object identifier of thegraph data object is provided for linking the graph data object to thedata object; a set of associated data objects that are associated withthe data object are determined; for each associated data object, anassociated graph data object is created if a graph data objectcorresponding to the associated data object does not exist; and for eachcreated graph data object, a graph data relation object is created thatrepresents a relationship between the graph data object and theassociated graph data object. Created graph data objects, associatedgraph data objects, and graph data relation objects are stored in thegraph database. The graph database is provided to one or moreapplications.

The described subject matter can be implemented using acomputer-implemented method; a non-transitory, computer-readable mediumstoring computer-readable instructions to perform thecomputer-implemented method; and a computer-implemented systemcomprising one or more computer memory devices interoperably coupledwith one or more computers and having tangible, non-transitory,machine-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by theone or more computers, perform the computer-implemented method/thecomputer-readable instructions stored on the non-transitory,computer-readable medium.

The subject matter described in this specification can be implemented torealize one or more of the following advantages. First, a graph can beautomatically created from a set of data objects stored in one or moredatabases. Second, an application can take advantage of graph databasefeatures, including graph traversal and query flexibility. Third, agraph database can be extended to include relationships between dataobjects of separate applications. Fourth, a graph database can beautomatically synchronized with a relational database in response to achange in one or more objects in the relational database. Fifth, anapplication developer can determine, on a semantic data object level,what relational database data is replicated to a graph database. Sixth,an application developer can interact with a graph object replicatedfrom a corresponding data object using an interface that is similar tothe corresponding data object.

The details of one or more implementations of the subject matter of thisspecification are set forth in the Detailed Description, the Claims, andthe accompanying drawings. Other features, aspects, and advantages ofthe subject matter will become apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art from the Detailed Description, the Claims, and the accompanyingdrawings.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system forcreating a graph database based on data objects, according to animplementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an example of a data graph representing an examplemarketplace, according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system forcreating a data graph from multiple relational databases, according toan implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example of a system for using an objectmanagement user interface, according to an implementation of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example of a system for obtainingconsent to link graph data objects, according to an implementation ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example of a system for synchronizing adata graph, according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example of a system for coordinatingdata object and graph object methods, according to an implementation ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example of a system for automaticcreation and synchronization of graph database objects, according to animplementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a computer-implementedmethod for automatic creation and synchronization of graph databaseobjects, according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of acomputer-implemented system used to provide computationalfunctionalities associated with described algorithms, methods,functions, processes, flows, and procedures, according to animplementation of the present disclosure.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description describes automatic creation andsynchronization of graph database objects, and is presented to enableany person skilled in the art to make and use the disclosed subjectmatter in the context of one or more particular implementations. Variousmodifications, alterations, and permutations of the disclosedimplementations can be made and will be readily apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art, and the general principles defined can beapplied to other implementations and applications, without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. In some instances, one or moretechnical details that are unnecessary to obtain an understanding of thedescribed subject matter and that are within the skill of one ofordinary skill in the art may be omitted so as to not obscure one ormore described implementations. The present disclosure is not intendedto be limited to the described or illustrated implementations, but to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the described principles andfeatures.

In a modern interconnected world, integration between enterprise orother types of applications can be important for organizations.Relationships between datasets relevant in an enterprise can be variedand extensive, for example, and difficult to capture. An EnterpriseKnowledge Graph (EKG) can be used for efficient management of enterprisedata. However, integrating existing enterprise applications into an EKGcan be challenging and resource-intensive. For instance, a manual updateof an EKG after an update to a relational database or other object storemay be required.

Alternatively, a systematic approach described herein can be used toautomatically provide the benefits of a EKG (which can be referred to asa data graph) to enterprise applications. A data graph can include twotypes of modeled objects: a Graph Data Object (GDO) and a Graph DataRelation (GDR). GDO and GDR instances can be persisted using a graphdatabase.

A creation process can be automatically performed by a framework, forcreating GDO and GDR instances from enterprise data objects (DO) thatare stored, for example, in relational database(s). For instance, graphvertices can be derived from objects and entities in the relationaldatabase(s) and created as GDO instances in the data graph.Relationships can be determined from object associations and relationaldatabase foreign key relationships and can be stored as GDR instances inthe data graph. Changes to DO instances can be automatically replicatedby the framework to corresponding GDOs to keep DOs and GDOs in sync.Additionally, GDO and GDR methods can be used for enforcement ofconsistency constraints for individual GDO types.

The data graph can be a consistent representation of a set of objectscreated and stored by an application. Different applications (withseparate databases) that each store DOs can be connected to a data graphthat includes a superset of objects of different applications anddatabases. Additionally, the data graph can be extended by additionalobjects, that are not created from replication of DOs of an application,that represent relationships between applications. The additional GDOscan be linked, using GDRs, to GDOs that have been replicated fromapplications. Accordingly, otherwise disconnected graphs replicated fromdifferent applications can be interconnected in the data graph.Therefore, the data graph can enable access to enterprise data that ismodeled as data objects that are stored in multiple relational databasesspread across various systems. Data objects can be related to other dataobjects (even in remote applications) and the relations between objectscan be queried in a more generic form, using the data graph, than with arelational model. Objects can be analyzed in a graph without explicitlyformulating data object to data object relations on a relationaldatabase level. With a data graph, it can be sufficient that objects arein some relationship to each other, without specification of a concreatepath. Accordingly, queries can be formulated without restriction to aconcreate relational path.

Graph object creation and updates from data objects can be triggered ona semantic data object basis, rather than at a relational databaselevel. Accordingly, data object developers can control, based on logicand semantic decisions appropriate for the object, what data isreplicated to a data graph. Developers can opt-in or opt-out of some orall data graph replication, for example.

Applications that utilize a data graph can interface with the data graphusing GDO and GDR methods, with at least some of the methods beingsimilar to corresponding methods in the related data object. GDO and DOlinkage can be bi-directional, in that a change to a GDO can beautomatically reflected in a corresponding data object. Bi-directionallinkage can allow application developers to freely navigate betweengraph objects or data objects, performing operations on either type,depending on what a developer decides is easier, more efficient, or moreappropriate.

The framework can support advanced scenarios including connectingentities that originate from different systems and are therefore notconnected by foreign keys within a database but are more loosely relatedby reference identifiers. Application developers can rely on theframework for establishing such connections, rather than performingcustom development.

The framework processing can go beyond simple evaluation of relationaldatabase schema information. For example, process integrationrelationships can be evaluated when creating a graph, thereby linkingsystems and not just databases, based on semantic object identifiers(for example, purchase order number/sales order number).

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system 100 forcreating a graph database based on data objects, according to animplementation of the present disclosure. Data objects can representinstances of concepts in a processing system. Each data object can beinstance of an object type, or class, for example. For instance,purchase order objects can represent instances of purchase orders in anenterprise system. The system 100 includes a first data object DO1 102and a second data object DO2 104. As mentioned in a note 106, data fordata objects can be stored in a relational database. As described in anote 108, data objects can provide operations (methods) to act on anobject. Traditional operations can include retrieving and settingattributes of an object. Other operations can represent semanticoperations on an object that may put an object into a different state,for example.

A note 110 indicates that data objects may provide other methods, suchas methods to return or traverse associations to other data objects. Forinstance, the first data object DO1 102 can provide a method to return areference to the second data object DO2 104, based on an association 112between the two objects. In some implementations, the second data objectDO2 104 can also provide a method, for returning a reference to theassociated first data object DO1 102. The association 112 can bemanifested as a foreign key relation in a relational database. Dataobject associations can be used to create a relation in a data graphbetween graph objects that correspond to data objects.

A data graph 114, for example, can include GDOs 116, 118, and 120 asgraph vertices. The data graph 114 can be persisted in a graph database.The data graph 114 can be an EKG that can be used to model relations ofdifferent datasets in an enterprise, including objects or concepts thatare related across systems or applications.

GDOs, as indicated by a note 122, can provide, like DOs, operations forretrieving and setting attributes. As described by a note section 124,GDOs and the data graph 114 can provide additional methods for graphtraversal, beyond capabilities provided by DOs or a relational database.For instance, operations for graph traversal can be supported, includingacross an indefinite number of vertices or indirections in the datagraph 114. The data graph 114 can enable traversing a longer path ofrelations in the graph more quickly, as compared to executing complexJOIN operations on a set of relational database tables. For example, aminimum spanning tree can be computed, and the data graph 114 can beanalyzed for cycles and a shortest path between a given two vertices canbe computed.

GDOs in the data graph 114 can be connected using GDRs. For example, aGDR 136 links the GDO 116 to the GDO 120, a GDR 138 links the GDO 120 tothe GDO 118, and a GDR 140 links the GDO 116 to the GDO 118. A GDR canconnect related GDOs. Relations can be added by linking two relatedGDOs, which can be less involved than, for example, establishing foreignkey relationships in relational storage.

An automatic process can be performed to create GDOs and GDRs from dataobjects stored in relational database(s). For example, graph verticescan be derived from objects and entities in the relational database andcreated as GDOs in the data graph 114. For instance, the GDO 116 can becreated from the first data object DO1 102 and the GDO 118 can becreated from the second data object DO2 104. Associations 142 and 144can link the first data object DO1 102 to the GDO 116 and the GDO 116 tothe first data object DO1 102, respectively. Similarly, associations 146and 148 can link the second data object DO2 104 to the GDO 118 and theGDO 118 to the second data object DO2 104, respectively. As described inmore detail in following figures, bi-directional linking can enablekeeping GDOs in sync with related DOs.

Relationships between GDOs can be determined from associations andforeign key relationships of corresponding data objects. Determinedrelationships can be created as GDRs in the data graph 114. For example,the GDR 140 can be created based on identification of the association112. As described in more detail in following figures, GDOs can becreated other than from an identification of a data object. Forinstance, the GDO 120 can be created as a concept that is known or isidentified, that does not have a direct data object counterpart in arelational database. The GDO 120 can reflect application integration orrelationship or a semantic concept from another system, for example.GDRs 136 and 138 can be created in response to determining that the GDO120 is related to the GDO 116 and the GDO 118, respectively.

FIG. 2 is an example of a data graph 200 representing an examplemarketplace, according to an implementation of the present disclosure.The marketplace can be for the management of rental car offerings anddiscounts. The example data graph 200 illustrates how information can beretrieved from the data graph 200 by following various paths, orindirections in the data graph 200. For example, one, two, three, oreven four or more paths could be traversed when processing a query. Tosimilarly solve a same problem using just a relational database, complexqueries 202 would need to be crafted, often including unions of queriesfor different numbers of indirections. Such queries would be cumbersomeand time consuming to create and maintain. For instance, a relationalquery that may handle four indirections may not work if fiveindirections are actually needed.

In further detail about the data graph 200, a rental car company canoffer its services to companies and individuals. For example, the datagraph 200 includes a GDO 202 representing a Sunshine Cars rental carcompany and a GDO 204 representing a Moonlight Cars rental car company.Each rental car company can have a service offering, which can berepresented by a service catalog. A respective service catalog can berepresented on the data graph 200 as a GDO and then linked to acorresponding car rental company GDO. For instance, service catalog GDOs206 and 208 are linked to the GDO 202 or the GDO 204, using a GDR 210 ora GDR 212, respectively.

A rental car company can offer discounts to consumers. Discounts can bethe same for all users or can be user-specific, and can be offereddirectly to users or a user can obtain a discount based on a membershipin a discount club or community organizer group. For instance, a userMax, an individual represented by a GDO 214, is a member of a discountclub represented by a GDO 216, with the membership being reflected by anis-member-of GDR 218. The discount club can have a contracted offering(reflected by a GDR 220) with the Sunshine Cars rental car company 202,for example. The contracted offering can result in a granting of arebate of, for example, ten percent (as reflected by a GDR 222). Theuser Max can receive the ten percent discount at Sunshine Cars, based onthe membership in the discount club.

Max is an employee of an Acme company represented by a GDO 224. Max canparticipate in the marketplace either as a private user or as anemployee of the Acme company. Max as a private user may have differentcontact or identifying information than Max as an Acme employee. Forinstance, a GDO 226 represents Max as an employee. A GDR 228 reflectsthat Max as an employee is the same person as the private user Max. AGDR 230 reflects the employee-employer relationship of Max with the Acmecompany. A company can have a contract with a rental car company. Forinstance, as reflected by contracted-offering GDRs 232 and 234 andgranted-discount GDRs 236 and 238, Acme has a contracted offering withboth the Moonlight Cars rental car company and the Sunshine Cars rentalcar company that can result in discounts of twelve or five percent,respectively.

A car rental application can use the data graph 200 to determine carrental offers and associated discounts for a user such as Max. Forexample, when Max wants to rent a car, all paths of the data graph 200from Max to a GDO of type “RentalCarCompany” can be traversed, with eachcorresponding identified rental car company offering a service availablefor Max. Out of the paths from Max to a RentalCarCompany GDO, all pathsthat have a relation “contractedOffering” can be identified, which canlead to identification of paths that have relations of type“grantRebate.” A discount attribute of each “grantRebate” relation canbe read to determine an available discount value. If two relations witha discount are passed in a same path the discount amounts can be added.Accordingly, traversal of the data graph 200 for Max can result inidentification of offered services by Moonlight Cars with a discount of12%, services of Sunshine Cars with a discount of 5% (from the Acmeemployer), and a 10% discount from the discount club. The applicationcan thus show Max the offerings and the discounts that are applicablefor Max, even if the offerings are facilitated through differentorganizations. The application can work unchanged, even as additionalnodes (reflecting other discounts and companies) are added to the datagraph 200.

The data graph 200 can be a standalone data structure that is not basedon data objects. However, some or all of the entities and conceptsreflected in the data graph 200 may originate from data objects that areused or provided by existing application(s) that use, for example, oneor more relational databases. Existing data objects and datarelationships can be leveraged, by automatic creation of the data graph200 from existing data sources. An application can use the data graph200, for advanced querying, as previously described, without requiringan abandonment of traditional applications that use an existing dataobject infrastructure or a manual effort to create the data graph 200from scratch. Applications can be crafted to use one or both types ofdata bases, depending on application needs.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system 300 forcreating a data graph from multiple relational databases, according toan implementation of the present disclosure. Data for differententerprise processes, systems, or applications can be stored indifferent databases. For example, data of an application built frommicroservices can be stored in a database that is separate fromdatabases of other applications or services. For example, the system 300includes a relational database 302, a relational database 304, and arelational database 306, for three different applications/services.

Multiple disparate databases generally do not allow for efficientrunning of cross domain analysis across the different databases. Relateddata cannot be easily followed from one application to another. Whiledata analysis on a superset of data of different databases can beanswered from a replicated data store such as a data warehouse or datalake, such secondary data stores are generally optimized for dataaggregation, not for traversal of paths between associated objects. Asan improved solution, realtime cross-domain queries can be efficientlyprocessed using a data graph. The data graph can be created frommultiple data sources and extended over time to hold informationnormally held in separate databases.

As mentioned by a note 308, a data graph 309 including GDOs and GDRs canbe created from the DOs and associations in the relational databases302, 304, and 306. For example, a GDO 310, a GDO 312, and a GDR 314 havebeen created based on a DO 316, a DO 318, and an association 320included in the relational database 302, respectively. As anotherexample, a GDO 322, a GDO 324, and a GDR 326 have been created based ona DO 328, a DO 330, and an association 332 included in the relationaldatabase 304, respectively. As yet another example, a GDO 334, a GDO336, a GDO 338, a GDR 340, and a GDR 342 have been created based on a DO344, a DO 346, a DO 348, an association 349, and an association 350included in the relational database 306, respectively. As indicated by anote 351 (and described in more detail in further paragraphs), DOinstance create, change, and delete operations can be replicated to arespective GDO instance.

After replication of DOs to GDOs, the data graph 309 includes data ofdifferent applications in one graph. The data graph 309 can be a globalgraph spanning multiple graphs representing objects from differentapplications. The data graph 309 can include representations of theapplication graphs and can also include additional vertices andadditional edges that describe relationships between objects in thedifferent applications. The system 300 can therefore enable relating andconnecting otherwise non-connected graphs replicated from the differentapplications.

For instance, the data graph 309 can be extended by additional objectsnot created as replication DOs. For example, GDOs 352, 353, and 354 canbe created in the data graph, as GDOs that are not replicated from therelational databases 302, 304, or 306. Additional created GDOs can berelated to GDOs replicated from applications using GDRs. For example:the GDO 352 can be connected to the GDO 310 using a GDR 355 and to theGDO 322 using a GDR 356; the GDO 353 can be connected to the GDO 312using a GDR 358 and to the GDO 322 using a GDR 360; and the GDO 354 canbe connected to the GDO 324 using a GDR 362 and to the GDO 334 using aGDR 364. In some implementations, GDOs created from differentapplications can be linked directly using a GDR. For instance, the GDO324 is connected to the GDO 334 using a GDR 366. The GDO 324 mayrepresent a purchase order object and the GDO may represent a salesorder object, for example, and the GDR 366 may reflect a linkage betweena purchase order number and a sales order number (that may be reflectedon documents exchanged between parties that have “our number/yournumber” information).

Additional GDOs can represent events that are raised by one applicationand consumed by one or more receiving applications. The additional GDOcan include event information, including event metadata, such asretention time, information indicating whether event communication issynchronous or asynchronous, etc. The additional GDO can be a node thatother objects from applications can subsequently connect to, withadditional connections to the node representing other applications nowconsuming the event.

As indicated by a note 370, in some implementations and for someobjects, additional GDOs or GDRs can be created in response toadditional input from a user. For instance, a maintenance user interfacecan be used to create graph objects that have not been automaticallycreated from replication. The GDO 352 and the GDO 353 can be createdfrom user input, for example.

As another example and as indicated by a note 372, inter-applicationrelationships can be automatically determined and reflected asrelationships between GDOs representing different applications. Forexample, application integration information (for example, integrationscenarios) can be evaluated, to determine application to applicationrelationships. The GDO 354 can be automatically identified fromintegration information, for example. The GDO 354 can represent anintermediary object that is passed between two applications during anintegration, for example. For instance, if the GDO 324 represents apurchase order and the GDO 334 represents a sales order, as previouslydescribed, the GDO 354 can represent purchase order information that issent using electronic data exchange. The GDO 354 can have a separateidentifier that can be referenced from both a purchase order object anda sales order object.

In general, automatic identification of inter-application relationshipscan be performed in a rule-based manner, for example to identifyexternal references that may exist or be associated with a givenapplication. For instance, semantically linked cross-applicationidentifiers, at a semantic data object level, can be identified, evenwhen such identifiers are not linked or included at a foreignkey/relational database level. For instance, a purchase order object ina first system may include a reference to a sales order number thatrepresents a sales order object in a different second system, and aninter-application relationship can be identified automatically, evenwhen the relational database system of the first system does not store asales order table or a foreign key relating to sales orders.

A GDO that links disparate systems can represent a logical externalsystem that is used by or referred to a given source application orsystem. A GDO linking systems can represent a remote applicationinstance, and can have attributes such as a Uniform Resource Locator(URL) of the remote system. As another example, a GDO linking systemscan represent communication endpoints or destinations that are used byconnected systems.

The data graph 309, once populated with replication and other types ofobjects, can enable operations and queries on data spanning differentapplications. For example, an application configured to use therelational database 304 can submit a query to the data graph 309 forobjects related to the data object 330. The data graph 309 can identifyand provide, as related objects, the graph data object 324, the graphdata object 334, and by association, the data object 344 in therelational database 306. The data graph 309 can be constructed moreeasily and with less impact on existing applications and databases, ascompared to custom development in respective applications that may haveto occur to reflect, in traditional systems, inter-applicationrelationships, for example. Custom, in-application development may betime consuming and may not be reusable in other contexts.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example of a system 400 for using anobject management user interface, according to an implementation of thepresent disclosure. Although data graph objects can be createdautomatically, as mentioned, from data objects, data graph objects canalso be created manually by an object owner, or can be created ormodified automatically but conditionally, based on data object ownerconsent.

An object (or object type) owner 402 (for example, a developer), can owna first data object 404, a second data object 406, and a third dataobject 408. The second data object 406 is linked to the third dataobject 408 using an association 409. The object owner 402 can use a datagraph object management user interface 410 to create, in a data graphpersistency 411, a GDO 412 corresponding to the second data object 406,a GDO 414 corresponding to the third data object 408, and a GDR 416corresponding to the association 409. The object owner 402 can choose tocreate or not create a GDO for the first data object 404, for example.

As another example, the object owner 402 can use the object managementuser interface 410 to configure consent for data graph support for someor all of the data objects owned by the object owner 402. Data graphsupport can include providing (or restricting) consent for keeping dataobjects and corresponding data graph objects in sync, for example.Consent information can be stored in the data graph persistency 411. Adata graph can be extended by additional attributes that can definecreation and modification processes, regarding which data may be storedupon Create, Update, Delete (CUD) operations and which relations andattributes can be read by different business processes.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example of a system 500 for obtainingconsent to link graph data objects, according to an implementation ofthe present disclosure. A first object owner 502 owns a data object 504that is related to a data object 506 owned by a second object owner 508.As indicated by a note 510, the first object owner 502 wants to add (orto have added), in a data graph, a GDR that connects GDOs correspondingto the data object 504 and the data object 506.

In a first stage (represented by a circled “one”), the first objectowner 502 sends a request to a data graph object management userinterface 512, for connecting GDOs corresponding to the data object 504and the data object 506. As indicated by a note 513, the request can bestored, in a second stage, in a change request persistency 514, and canbe for connecting a GDO 516 corresponding to the data object 504 with aGDO 518 corresponding to the data object 506, using a GDR 520. In athird stage and as illustrated in a note 522, the second object owner508 is presented with an approval request for approving the request sentby the first object owner 502.

In a fourth stage that represents an approval from the second objectowner 508, the requested link is stored in a data graph persistency 524as a GDR 526. As indicated by a note 528, the request from the firstobject owner 502 is removed from the change request persistency afterthe GDR 526 is established in the data graph persistency 524. Asindicated by a note 530, in a fifth stage that represents a rejectionfrom the second object owner 508, the request from the first objectowner 502 is removed from the change request persistency 514, inresponse to the rejection.

Accordingly, relations in a knowledge graph may depend on consent of anobject provider/owner. Consent approval can provide a solution for afact that not all relations should necessarily be allowed to be created(or desired by an application designer). Legal, policy, or privacyconsiderations (for example, as specified by General Data ProtectionRegulation (GDPR)) may result in consent configurations that preventcertain relationships or objects from being completely or fullyreplicated into or linked to other objects in a data graph.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example of a system 600 forsynchronizing a data graph, according to an implementation of thepresent disclosure. After automatic creation of a data graph 602 from atleast one relational database such as a relational database 604, thedata graph 602 can include a mirror representation of data objects fromthe relational database(s). Accordingly, applications can be developedto use either the graph database 602 or the relational database 604, orswitch between the graph database 602 and the relational database 604according to application needs.

New or existing applications can be integrated into an EKG environmentusing the data graph 602. For example, a new graph application 606 canbe configured to use the data graph 602. As another example, an existingtraditional application 608 can continue to use the relational database604 and can also be modified to use some features of the data graph 602.

Any suitable application can use the graph database 602 or therelational database 604. An application can use data object methods 610or GDO/GDR methods 612, to act on data objects or graph objects,respectively. Modify operations by applications to the data graph 602can be limited to a method layer that includes graph methods andrespective GDO and GDR methods, to ensure consistency of the data graph602. Additionally, applications can perform data object analytics 614 orgraph object analytics 616.

The system 600 can be configured to keep the data graph 602 and therelational database 604 synchronized when either graph or data objectinstances are modified. Using a change replication framework 618,changes made to data object instances can be replicated to correspondingGDOs to keep the data objects and the GDOs synchronized. Otherwise, thedata graph 602 and the relational database 604 could becomeunsynchronized. Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) operations 620and 622 can be configured, in the graph and relational worlds, forsynchronization, respectively. A data object and a corresponding GDO canbe bi-directionally linked, to support synchronization. For example, adata object 624 can include a reference 626 to a corresponding GDO 628and the GDO 628 can include a reference 630 to the data object 624.

Consistency operations can include performing two types of operations,including first operation(s) on the relational database 604 and secondoperation(s) on the graph database 602. Error handling can includehandling a failure of either a first or second operation. For example,transactional support can be included, such as rolling back a firstoperation if a second operation fails. As another example, requests canbe stored in an update queue, and if a particular update fails, anoperator can be notified to examine the update in the update queue andresolve the failure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example of a system 700 for coordinatingdata object and graph object methods, according to an implementation ofthe present disclosure. An application 702 that uses a relationaldatabase 704 can, during processing, invoke a method 706 on a dataobject 708 (for example, having an object identifier 710). The objectidentifier 710 may have been mapped to a GDO identifier 712 of acorresponding GDO 714 stored in a graph database 716, for example. A DOfactory 718 may have provided the object identifier 710 to a GDO factory720, for example. The GDO factory 720, in turn, can provide the GDOidentifier 712 to the DO factory 718. Accordingly, the data object 708can have a reference 722 to the GDO 714 and the GDO 714 can have areference 724 to the data object 708.

If the method 706 results in a modification (for example, an update toor a deletion of) the data object 708, the DO factory 718 can forwardmodify operation requests to the GDO factory 720, so that the GDOfactory 720 can modify the corresponding GDO 714. Forwarding the modifyoperation request can include using a remote function call 726 to invokea GDO method 728 that corresponds to the method 706.

Bi-directional read operations 729 can be supported, using a data objectread interface 730 and a GDO read interface 732, that enable theapplication 702 to read graph object information and a graph application734 to read data object information, respectively. In someimplementations, the GDO read interface 732 uses optimized graphoperations and algorithms to perform operations directly on a graph.Various graph query languages can be supported. Graph vertices and edgescan have identifiers that map to corresponding GDO or GDR instances,respectively. A graph read operation that results in a set of verticesand edges can be mapped to a set of GDO and GDR instances.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example of a system 800 for automaticcreation and synchronization of graph database objects, according to animplementation of the present disclosure. Data object CRUD operations802 on data objects in a relational database 804 can result in a DOfactory 806 triggering a GDO factory 808 to invoke corresponding GDO andGDR CRUD application method(s) 810 a or 810 b, respectively, in a GDOframework 812 to make corresponding changes to corresponding GDOs in agraph database 814.

During replication, the GDO factory 808 can create a related GDO for anexisting DO. The DO factory 806 can pass a DO instance to the GDOfactory 808. The GDO factory 808 can read a DO identifier, a DO type, DOattributes, and DO associations of the DO instance. The GDO factory 808can create a GDO instance as a vertex of a graph with a new GDOidentifier for the instance, add a DO identifier property to the GDOinstance that links the GDO instance to the DO instance, add otherproperties to the GDO instance based on attributes read from the DOinstance, and send an update request to the DO factory 802 to add anattribute to the DO instance with the value of the GDO identifier, tolink the DO instance to the GDO instance.

The GDO factory 808 can iterate through the associations of the DOinstance to establish relationships for the GDO instance. For eachassociation, the GDO factory 808 can identify, using the association, arelated DO instance related to the original DO instance, extract anidentifier of the related DO instance, determine whether a GDO instanceexists that is linked to the related DO instance, create a related GDOinstance for the related DO instance if no GDO instance had already beencreated for the related DO instance, create a GDR relating the relatedGDO instance to the GDO mapped to the original DO instance, and addattributes to the GDR based on attributes of the DO association.

The GDO framework 808 includes an object maintenance component 816 thatcan be used for creating non-replication GDOs (for example, using aprovided user interface 818). A GDO type and GDO property values can beprovided to the GDO factory 808, for creation of a new GDO. The GDOfactory 808 can create a new GDO instance as a vertex of the graph,establish a GDO identifier for the new GDO instance, and add propertiesto the new GDO instance based on the provided property values.

A graph application 820 can include GDO and GDR method calls 822 a or822 b, respectively, that, when called, result in execution of GDO andGDR CRUD application methods 810 a or 810 b, respectively. The graphapplication 820 can also invoke GDR method(s) or graph-level methodsapplicable to the graph itself. An overall set of GDO, GDR, and graphmethods provided by the GDO framework 812 can be an API for the graphapplication 820 that when used can result in consistency both within thegraph database 814 and the consistency of the graph database 814 withthe relational database 804 (and other associated databases). The APIprovided by the GDO framework 812 can ensure other types of consistency,such as ensuring that requested operations follow a state-model and onlyallow defined state transitions.

The graph application 820 can use a graph analytics engine 824 or agraph read interface 826 for graph read operations that execute pathtraversal, path analytics and other read-path algorithms. Examplequeries can include: querying whether two GDO instances are related,either directly or from a path that has intermediary object(s); queryingfor a list of GDOs that are related to an input GDO, with an optionaldepth constraint; querying for GDOs or GDRs by name or identifier; orother types of queries. A read-operation on a GDO instance can retrievea corresponding DO identifier and read data of the related DO.Similarly, a read operation on a DO performed using a DO read interface828 can retrieve a related GDO instance identifier and read data of therelated GDO.

If a DO instance is deleted, the GDO-factory 808 can be invoked to makethe graph database 814 consistent with the DO instance deletion. Simpledeletion of a related GDO instance can lead to an inconsistent graph, asthere may be edges going to or from the GDO instance. Accordingly, toconsistently delete a related GDO instance, the GDO factory can firstdelete all edges going to and from the GDO instance. Other approachescan be used. For instance, the GDO framework 812 can respond with anerror message to the DO factory to a deletion request if a related GDOinstance to be deleted is connected to other items in the graph.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a computer-implementedmethod 900 for automatic creation and synchronization of graph databaseobjects, according to an implementation of the present disclosure. Forclarity of presentation, the description that follows generallydescribes method 900 in the context of the other figures in thisdescription. However, it will be understood that method 900 can beperformed, for example, by any system, environment, software, andhardware, or a combination of systems, environments, software, andhardware, as appropriate. In some implementations, various steps ofmethod 900 can be run in parallel, in combination, in loops, or in anyorder.

At 902, a request is received to create a graph database from one ormore relational databases. From 902, method 900 proceeds to 904.

At 904, for each relational database, a set of data objects stored inthe relational database is identified. For each identified data objectstored in the relational database, a set of processing steps isperformed. From 904, method 900 proceeds to 906.

At 906, a graph data object is created that corresponds to the dataobject. From 906, method 900 proceeds to 908.

At 908, the graph data object is linked to the data object using anidentifier of the data object. Additionally, one or more properties canbe added to the graph data object based on a set of attributes read fromthe data object. From 908, method 900 proceeds to 910.

At 910, a graph data object identifier of the graph data object isprovided for linking the graph data object to the data object. The graphdata object identifier can be provided to a data object factory thatmaintains data objects in the relational database. From 910, method 900proceeds to 912.

At 912, a set of zero or more associated data objects that areassociated with the data object is determined. From 912, method 900proceeds to 914.

At 914, if at least one associated data object has been determined, foreach associated data object, an associated graph data object is createdif a graph data object corresponding to the associated data object doesnot exist. A graph data object may have already been created due to apreviously processed association, for example. From 914, method 900proceeds to 916.

At 916, for each created graph data object, a graph data relation objectis created that represents a relationship between the graph data objectand the associated graph data object. From 916, method 900 proceeds to918.

At 918, created graph data objects, associated graph data objects, andgraph data relation objects are stored in the graph database. From 918,method 900 proceeds to 920.

At 920, the graph database is provided to one or more applications. Theone or more applications can query the graph database. After 920, method900 stops.

After the graph database has been created, a change to a first dataobject in a first relational database can be determined. A first graphdata object corresponding to the first data object can be identified andthe first graph data object can be updated based on the change in thefirst data object. As another example, a change to a first graph dataobject can be detected in the graph database, for example based on anupdate from an application. A first data object corresponding to thefirst graph data object can be identified and information for the firstchange can be provided, for example to the data object factory, forupdating of the first data object.

In some implementations, the one or more relational databases include afirst database for a first application and a second database for asecond application. One or more inter-application relationships betweenthe first application and the second application can be identified thatare not represented as a foreign key in the first database or the seconddatabase. For each inter-application relationship, a first graph dataobject created from the first database can be linked with a second graphdata object created from the second database, using either a graph datarelation object or an intermediary graph data object. Providing thegraph database to one or more applications can include enabling the oneor more applications to query for inter-application relationships.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of acomputer-implemented System 1000 used to provide computationalfunctionalities associated with described algorithms, methods,functions, processes, flows, and procedures, according to animplementation of the present disclosure. In the illustratedimplementation, System 1000 includes a Computer 1002 and a Network 1030.

The illustrated Computer 1002 is intended to encompass any computingdevice, such as a server, desktop computer, laptop/notebook computer,wireless data port, smart phone, personal data assistant (PDA), tabletcomputer, one or more processors within these devices, or a combinationof computing devices, including physical or virtual instances of thecomputing device, or a combination of physical or virtual instances ofthe computing device. Additionally, the Computer 1002 can include aninput device, such as a keypad, keyboard, or touch screen, or acombination of input devices that can accept user information, and anoutput device that conveys information associated with the operation ofthe Computer 1002, including digital data, visual, audio, another typeof information, or a combination of types of information, on agraphical-type user interface (UI) (or GUI) or other UI.

The Computer 1002 can serve in a role in a distributed computing systemas, for example, a client, network component, a server, or a database oranother persistency, or a combination of roles for performing thesubject matter described in the present disclosure. The illustratedComputer 1002 is communicably coupled with a Network 1030. In someimplementations, one or more components of the Computer 1002 can beconfigured to operate within an environment, or a combination ofenvironments, including cloud-computing, local, or global.

At a high level, the Computer 1002 is an electronic computing deviceoperable to receive, transmit, process, store, or manage data andinformation associated with the described subject matter. According tosome implementations, the Computer 1002 can also include or becommunicably coupled with a server, such as an application server,e-mail server, web server, caching server, or streaming data server, ora combination of servers.

The Computer 1002 can receive requests over Network 1030 (for example,from a client software application executing on another Computer 1002)and respond to the received requests by processing the received requestsusing a software application or a combination of software applications.In addition, requests can also be sent to the Computer 1002 frominternal users (for example, from a command console or by anotherinternal access method), external or third-parties, or other entities,individuals, systems, or computers.

Each of the components of the Computer 1002 can communicate using aSystem Bus 1003. In some implementations, any or all of the componentsof the Computer 1002, including hardware, software, or a combination ofhardware and software, can interface over the System Bus 1003 using anapplication programming interface (API) 1012, a Service Layer 1013, or acombination of the API 1012 and Service Layer 1013. The API 1012 caninclude specifications for routines, data structures, and objectclasses. The API 1012 can be either computer-language independent ordependent and refer to a complete interface, a single function, or evena set of APIs. The Service Layer 1013 provides software services to theComputer 1002 or other components (whether illustrated or not) that arecommunicably coupled to the Computer 1002. The functionality of theComputer 1002 can be accessible for all service consumers using theService Layer 1013. Software services, such as those provided by theService Layer 1013, provide reusable, defined functionalities through adefined interface. For example, the interface can be software written ina computing language (for example JAVA or C++) or a combination ofcomputing languages, and providing data in a particular format (forexample, extensible markup language (XML)) or a combination of formats.While illustrated as an integrated component of the Computer 1002,alternative implementations can illustrate the API 1012 or the ServiceLayer 1013 as stand-alone components in relation to other components ofthe Computer 1002 or other components (whether illustrated or not) thatare communicably coupled to the Computer 1002. Moreover, any or allparts of the API 1012 or the Service Layer 1013 can be implemented as achild or a sub-module of another software module, enterpriseapplication, or hardware module without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure.

The Computer 1002 includes an Interface 1004. Although illustrated as asingle Interface 1004, two or more Interfaces 1004 can be used accordingto particular needs, desires, or particular implementations of theComputer 1002. The Interface 1004 is used by the Computer 1002 forcommunicating with another computing system (whether illustrated or not)that is communicatively linked to the Network 1030 in a distributedenvironment. Generally, the Interface 1004 is operable to communicatewith the Network 1030 and includes logic encoded in software, hardware,or a combination of software and hardware. More specifically, theInterface 1004 can include software supporting one or more communicationprotocols associated with communications such that the Network 1030 orhardware of Interface 1004 is operable to communicate physical signalswithin and outside of the illustrated Computer 1002.

The Computer 1002 includes a Processor 1005. Although illustrated as asingle Processor 1005, two or more Processors 1005 can be used accordingto particular needs, desires, or particular implementations of theComputer 1002. Generally, the Processor 1005 executes instructions andmanipulates data to perform the operations of the Computer 1002 and anyalgorithms, methods, functions, processes, flows, and procedures asdescribed in the present disclosure.

The Computer 1002 also includes a Database 1006 that can hold data forthe Computer 1002, another component communicatively linked to theNetwork 1030 (whether illustrated or not), or a combination of theComputer 1002 and another component. For example, Database 1006 can bean in-memory or conventional database storing data consistent with thepresent disclosure. In some implementations, Database 1006 can be acombination of two or more different database types (for example, ahybrid in-memory and conventional database) according to particularneeds, desires, or particular implementations of the Computer 1002 andthe described functionality. Although illustrated as a single Database1006, two or more databases of similar or differing types can be usedaccording to particular needs, desires, or particular implementations ofthe Computer 1002 and the described functionality. While Database 1006is illustrated as an integral component of the Computer 1002, inalternative implementations, Database 1006 can be external to theComputer 1002. As illustrated, the Database 1006 holds the previouslydescribed GDOs 1016 and GDRs 1018.

The Computer 1002 also includes a Memory 1007 that can hold data for theComputer 1002, another component or components communicatively linked tothe Network 1030 (whether illustrated or not), or a combination of theComputer 1002 and another component. Memory 1007 can store any dataconsistent with the present disclosure. In some implementations, Memory1007 can be a combination of two or more different types of memory (forexample, a combination of semiconductor and magnetic storage) accordingto particular needs, desires, or particular implementations of theComputer 1002 and the described functionality. Although illustrated as asingle Memory 1007, two or more Memories 1007 or similar or differingtypes can be used according to particular needs, desires, or particularimplementations of the Computer 1002 and the described functionality.While Memory 1007 is illustrated as an integral component of theComputer 1002, in alternative implementations, Memory 1007 can beexternal to the Computer 1002.

The Application 1008 is an algorithmic software engine providingfunctionality according to particular needs, desires, or particularimplementations of the Computer 1002, particularly with respect tofunctionality described in the present disclosure. For example,Application 1008 can serve as one or more components, modules, orapplications. Further, although illustrated as a single Application1008, the Application 1008 can be implemented as multiple Applications1008 on the Computer 1002. In addition, although illustrated as integralto the Computer 1002, in alternative implementations, the Application1008 can be external to the Computer 1002.

The Computer 1002 can also include a Power Supply 1014. The Power Supply1014 can include a rechargeable or non-rechargeable battery that can beconfigured to be either user- or non-user-replaceable. In someimplementations, the Power Supply 1014 can include power-conversion ormanagement circuits (including recharging, standby, or another powermanagement functionality). In some implementations, the Power Supply1014 can include a power plug to allow the Computer 1002 to be pluggedinto a wall socket or another power source to, for example, power theComputer 1002 or recharge a rechargeable battery.

There can be any number of Computers 1002 associated with, or externalto, a computer system containing Computer 1002, each Computer 1002communicating over Network 1030. Further, the term “client,” “user,” orother appropriate terminology can be used interchangeably, asappropriate, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Moreover, the present disclosure contemplates that many users can useone Computer 1002, or that one user can use multiple computers 1002.

Described implementations of the subject matter can include one or morefeatures, alone or in combination.

For example, in a first implementation, a computer-implemented method,comprising: receiving a request to create a graph database from one ormore relational databases; for each relational database: identify a setof data objects stored in the relational database; and for each dataobject stored in the relational database: create a graph data objectthat corresponds to the data object; link the graph data object to thedata object using an identifier of the data object; provide a graph dataobject identifier of the graph data object for linking the graph dataobject to the data object; determine a set of associated data objectsthat are associated with the data object; for each associated dataobject, create an associated graph data object if a graph data objectcorresponding to the associated data object does not exist; and for eachcreated graph data object, create a graph data relation object thatrepresents a relationship between the graph data object and theassociated graph data object; storing created graph data objects,associated graph data objects, and graph data relation objects in thegraph database; and providing the graph database to one or moreapplications.

The foregoing and other described implementations can each, optionally,include one or more of the following features:

A first feature, combinable with any of the following features,comprising adding one or more properties to the graph data object basedon a set of attributes read from the data object.

A second feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the one or more relational databases include a firstdatabase for a first application and a second database for a secondapplication, and wherein the computer-implemented method furthercomprises: identifying one or more inter-application relationshipsbetween the first application and the second application that are notrepresented as a foreign key in the first database or the seconddatabase; and for each inter-application relationship, linking, in thegraph database, a first graph data object created from the firstdatabase with a second graph data object created from the seconddatabase.

A third feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the first graph data object and the second graph dataobject are linked with a linking graph data relation object.

A fourth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the first graph data object and the second graph dataobject are linked with an intermediary graph data object.

A fifth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein providing the graph database to one or moreapplications comprises enabling the one or more applications to queryfor inter-application relationships.

A sixth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, further comprising: determining a first change to a first dataobject in a first relational database; identifying a first graph dataobject corresponding to the first data object; and updating the firstgraph data object based on the first change in the first data object.

A seventh feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, further comprising: determining a first change to a firstgraph data object in the graph database; identifying a first data objectcorresponding to the first graph data object; and providing informationfor the first change for updating of the first data object.

An eighth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein a first relational database includes data objects of afirst type used by a first application, a second relational databaseincludes data objects of a second type used by a second application, andthe graph database includes a first graph data relation object thatlinks a first data object of the first type to a second data object ofthe second type, and wherein the computer-implemented method furthercomprises: receiving a query from the first application for objects thatare related to the first data object; determining, based on identifyingthe first graph data relation object, that the second data object of thesecond type is related to the first data object; and providing, inresponse to the query, at least an identifier of the second data object,to the first application, to enable the first application to interactwith the second data object.

A ninth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, comprising: identifying a new relationship between a firstdata object and a second data object initiated by a first owner of thefirst data object; identifying a second owner of the second data object;sending an approval request to the second owner for linking, in thegraph database, a first graph data object corresponding to the firstdata object to a second graph data object corresponding to the seconddata object; receiving an approval from the second owner in response tothe approval request; and linking, in the graph database, the firstgraph data object to the second graph data object, based on the approvaland the new relationship.

In a second implementation, a non-transitory, computer-readable mediumstoring one or more instructions executable by a computer system toperform operations comprising: receiving a request to create a graphdatabase from one or more relational databases; for each relationaldatabase: identify a set of data objects stored in the relationaldatabase; and for each data object stored in the relational database:create a graph data object that corresponds to the data object; link thegraph data object to the data object using an identifier of the dataobject; provide a graph data object identifier of the graph data objectfor linking the graph data object to the data object; determine a set ofassociated data objects that are associated with the data object; foreach associated data object, create an associated graph data object if agraph data object corresponding to the associated data object does notexist; and for each created graph data object, create a graph datarelation object that represents a relationship between the graph dataobject and the associated graph data object; storing created graph dataobjects, associated graph data objects, and graph data relation objectsin the graph database; and providing the graph database to one or moreapplications.

The foregoing and other described implementations can each, optionally,include one or more of the following features:

A first feature, combinable with any of the following features, whereinthe operations comprise adding one or more properties to the graph dataobject based on a set of attributes read from the data object.

A second feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the one or more relational databases include a firstdatabase for a first application and a second database for a secondapplication, and wherein the operations comprise: identifying one ormore inter-application relationships between the first application andthe second application that are not represented as a foreign key in thefirst database or the second database; and for each inter-applicationrelationship, linking, in the graph database, a first graph data objectcreated from the first database with a second graph data object createdfrom the second database.

A third feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the first graph data object and the second graph dataobject are linked with a linking graph data relation object.

A fourth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the first graph data object and the second graph dataobject are linked with an intermediary graph data object.

A fifth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein providing the graph database to one or moreapplications comprises enabling the one or more applications to queryfor inter-application relationships.

A sixth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the operations further comprise: determining a firstchange to a first data object in a first relational database;identifying a first graph data object corresponding to the first dataobject; and updating the first graph data object based on the firstchange in the first data object.

A seventh feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the operations further comprise: determining a firstchange to a first graph data object in the graph database; identifying afirst data object corresponding to the first graph data object; andproviding information for the first change for updating of the firstdata object.

An eighth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein a first relational database includes data objects of afirst type used by a first application, a second relational databaseincludes data objects of a second type used by a second application, andthe graph database includes a first graph data relation object thatlinks a first data object of the first type to a second data object ofthe second type, and wherein the operations further comprise: receivinga query from the first application for objects that are related to thefirst data object; determining, based on identifying the first graphdata relation object, that the second data object of the second type isrelated to the first data object; and providing, in response to thequery, at least an identifier of the second data object, to the firstapplication, to enable the first application to interact with the seconddata object.

A ninth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the operations comprise: identifying a newrelationship between a first data object and a second data objectinitiated by a first owner of the first data object; identifying asecond owner of the second data object; sending an approval request tothe second owner for linking, in the graph database, a first graph dataobject corresponding to the first data object to a second graph dataobject corresponding to the second data object; receiving an approvalfrom the second owner in response to the approval request; and linking,in the graph database, the first graph data object to the second graphdata object, based on the approval and the new relationship.

In a third implementation, a computer-implemented system, comprising:one or more computers; and one or more computer memory devicesinteroperably coupled with the one or more computers and havingtangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media storing one or moreinstructions that, when executed by the one or more computers, performone or more operations comprising: receiving a request to create a graphdatabase from one or more relational databases; for each relationaldatabase: identify a set of data objects stored in the relationaldatabase; and for each data object stored in the relational database:create a graph data object that corresponds to the data object; link thegraph data object to the data object using an identifier of the dataobject; provide a graph data object identifier of the graph data objectfor linking the graph data object to the data object; determine a set ofassociated data objects that are associated with the data object; foreach associated data object, create an associated graph data object if agraph data object corresponding to the associated data object does notexist; and for each created graph data object, create a graph datarelation object that represents a relationship between the graph dataobject and the associated graph data object; storing created graph dataobjects, associated graph data objects, and graph data relation objectsin the graph database; and providing the graph database to one or moreapplications.

The foregoing and other described implementations can each, optionally,include one or more of the following features:

A first feature, combinable with any of the following features, whereinthe operations comprise adding one or more properties to the graph dataobject based on a set of attributes read from the data object.

A second feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the one or more relational databases include a firstdatabase for a first application and a second database for a secondapplication, and wherein the operations comprise: identifying one ormore inter-application relationships between the first application andthe second application that are not represented as a foreign key in thefirst database or the second database; and for each inter-applicationrelationship, linking, in the graph database, a first graph data objectcreated from the first database with a second graph data object createdfrom the second database.

A third feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the first graph data object and the second graph dataobject are linked with a linking graph data relation object.

A fourth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the first graph data object and the second graph dataobject are linked with an intermediary graph data object.

A fifth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein providing the graph database to one or moreapplications comprises enabling the one or more applications to queryfor inter-application relationships.

A sixth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the operations further comprise: determining a firstchange to a first data object in a first relational database;identifying a first graph data object corresponding to the first dataobject; and updating the first graph data object based on the firstchange in the first data object.

A seventh feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the operations further comprise: determining a firstchange to a first graph data object in the graph database; identifying afirst data object corresponding to the first graph data object; andproviding information for the first change for updating of the firstdata object.

An eighth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein a first relational database includes data objects of afirst type used by a first application, a second relational databaseincludes data objects of a second type used by a second application, andthe graph database includes a first graph data relation object thatlinks a first data object of the first type to a second data object ofthe second type, and wherein the operations further comprise: receivinga query from the first application for objects that are related to thefirst data object; determining, based on identifying the first graphdata relation object, that the second data object of the second type isrelated to the first data object; and providing, in response to thequery, at least an identifier of the second data object, to the firstapplication, to enable the first application to interact with the seconddata object.

A ninth feature, combinable with any of the previous or followingfeatures, wherein the operations comprise: identifying a newrelationship between a first data object and a second data objectinitiated by a first owner of the first data object; identifying asecond owner of the second data object; sending an approval request tothe second owner for linking, in the graph database, a first graph dataobject corresponding to the first data object to a second graph dataobject corresponding to the second data object; receiving an approvalfrom the second owner in response to the approval request; and linking,in the graph database, the first graph data object to the second graphdata object, based on the approval and the new relationship.

Implementations of the subject matter and the functional operationsdescribed in this specification can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, in tangibly embodied computer software or firmware, incomputer hardware, including the structures disclosed in thisspecification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations ofone or more of them. Software implementations of the described subjectmatter can be implemented as one or more computer programs, that is, oneor more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a tangible,non-transitory, computer-readable medium for execution by, or to controlthe operation of, a computer or computer-implemented system.Alternatively, or additionally, the program instructions can be encodedin/on an artificially generated propagated signal, for example, amachine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal that isgenerated to encode information for transmission to a receiver apparatusfor execution by a computer or computer-implemented system. Thecomputer-storage medium can be a machine-readable storage device, amachine-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memorydevice, or a combination of computer-storage mediums. Configuring one ormore computers means that the one or more computers have installedhardware, firmware, or software (or combinations of hardware, firmware,and software) so that when the software is executed by the one or morecomputers, particular computing operations are performed.

The term “real-time,” “real time,” “realtime,” “real (fast) time (RFT),”“near(ly) real-time (NRT),” “quasi real-time,” or similar terms (asunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art), means that an actionand a response are temporally proximate such that an individualperceives the action and the response occurring substantiallysimultaneously. For example, the time difference for a response todisplay (or for an initiation of a display) of data following theindividual's action to access the data can be less than 1 millisecond(ms), less than 1 second (s), or less than 5 s. While the requested dataneed not be displayed (or initiated for display) instantaneously, it isdisplayed (or initiated for display) without any intentional delay,taking into account processing limitations of a described computingsystem and time required to, for example, gather, accurately measure,analyze, process, store, or transmit the data.

The terms “data processing apparatus,” “computer,” or “electroniccomputer device” (or an equivalent term as understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art) refer to data processing hardware and encompass allkinds of apparatuses, devices, and machines for processing data,including by way of example, a programmable processor, a computer, ormultiple processors or computers. The computer can also be, or furtherinclude special-purpose logic circuitry, for example, a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In some implementations,the computer or computer-implemented system or special-purpose logiccircuitry (or a combination of the computer or computer-implementedsystem and special-purpose logic circuitry) can be hardware- orsoftware-based (or a combination of both hardware- and software-based).The computer can optionally include code that creates an executionenvironment for computer programs, for example, code that constitutesprocessor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, anoperating system, or a combination of execution environments. Thepresent disclosure contemplates the use of a computer orcomputer-implemented system with an operating system, for example LINUX,UNIX, WINDOWS, MAC OS, ANDROID, or IOS, or a combination of operatingsystems.

A computer program, which can also be referred to or described as aprogram, software, a software application, a unit, a module, a softwaremodule, a script, code, or other component can be written in any form ofprogramming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, ordeclarative or procedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form,including, for example, as a stand-alone program, module, component, orsubroutine, for use in a computing environment. A computer program can,but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program can bestored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data, forexample, one or more scripts stored in a markup language document, in asingle file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiplecoordinated files, for example, files that store one or more modules,sub-programs, or portions of code. A computer program can be deployed tobe executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located atone site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by acommunication network.

While portions of the programs illustrated in the various figures can beillustrated as individual components, such as units or modules, thatimplement described features and functionality using various objects,methods, or other processes, the programs can instead include a numberof sub-units, sub-modules, third-party services, components, libraries,and other components, as appropriate. Conversely, the features andfunctionality of various components can be combined into singlecomponents, as appropriate. Thresholds used to make computationaldeterminations can be statically, dynamically, or both statically anddynamically determined.

Described methods, processes, or logic flows represent one or moreexamples of functionality consistent with the present disclosure and arenot intended to limit the disclosure to the described or illustratedimplementations, but to be accorded the widest scope consistent withdescribed principles and features. The described methods, processes, orlogic flows can be performed by one or more programmable computersexecuting one or more computer programs to perform functions byoperating on input data and generating output data. The methods,processes, or logic flows can also be performed by, and computers canalso be implemented as, special-purpose logic circuitry, for example, aCPU, an FPGA, or an ASIC.

Computers for the execution of a computer program can be based ongeneral or special-purpose microprocessors, both, or another type ofCPU. Generally, a CPU will receive instructions and data from and writeto a memory. The essential elements of a computer are a CPU, forperforming or executing instructions, and one or more memory devices forstoring instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include,or be operatively coupled to, receive data from or transfer data to, orboth, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, for example,magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computerneed not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded inanother device, for example, a mobile telephone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console, aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver, or a portable memory storagedevice.

Non-transitory computer-readable media for storing computer programinstructions and data can include all forms of permanent/non-permanentor volatile/non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including byway of example semiconductor memory devices, for example, random accessmemory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), phase change memory (PRAM), staticrandom access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM),erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices;magnetic devices, for example, tape, cartridges, cassettes,internal/removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and optical memorydevices, for example, digital versatile/video disc (DVD), compact disc(CD)-ROM, DVD+/−R, DVD-RAM, DVD-ROM, high-definition/density (HD)-DVD,and BLU-RAY/BLU-RAY DISC (BD), and other optical memory technologies.The memory can store various objects or data, including caches, classes,frameworks, applications, modules, backup data, jobs, web pages, webpage templates, data structures, database tables, repositories storingdynamic information, or other appropriate information including anyparameters, variables, algorithms, instructions, rules, constraints, orreferences. Additionally, the memory can include other appropriate data,such as logs, policies, security or access data, or reporting files. Theprocessor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in,special-purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, implementations of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquidcrystal display (LCD), light emitting diode (LED), or plasma monitor,for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointingdevice, for example, a mouse, trackball, or trackpad by which the usercan provide input to the computer. Input can also be provided to thecomputer using a touchscreen, such as a tablet computer surface withpressure sensitivity or a multi-touch screen using capacitive orelectric sensing. Other types of devices can be used to interact withthe user. For example, feedback provided to the user can be any form ofsensory feedback (such as, visual, auditory, tactile, or a combinationof feedback types). Input from the user can be received in any form,including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. In addition, a computercan interact with the user by sending documents to and receivingdocuments from a client computing device that is used by the user (forexample, by sending web pages to a web browser on a user's mobilecomputing device in response to requests received from the web browser).

The term “graphical user interface,” or “GUI,” can be used in thesingular or the plural to describe one or more graphical user interfacesand each of the displays of a particular graphical user interface.Therefore, a GUI can represent any graphical user interface, includingbut not limited to, a web browser, a touch screen, or a command lineinterface (CLI) that processes information and efficiently presents theinformation results to the user. In general, a GUI can include a numberof user interface (UI) elements, some or all associated with a webbrowser, such as interactive fields, pull-down lists, and buttons. Theseand other UI elements can be related to or represent the functions ofthe web browser.

Implementations of the subject matter described in this specificationcan be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-endcomponent, for example, as a data server, or that includes a middlewarecomponent, for example, an application server, or that includes afront-end component, for example, a client computer having a graphicaluser interface or a Web browser through which a user can interact withan implementation of the subject matter described in this specification,or any combination of one or more such back-end, middleware, orfront-end components. The components of the system can be interconnectedby any form or medium of wireline or wireless digital data communication(or a combination of data communication), for example, a communicationnetwork. Examples of communication networks include a local area network(LAN), a radio access network (RAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN),a wide area network (WAN), Worldwide Interoperability for MicrowaveAccess (WIMAX), a wireless local area network (WLAN) using, for example,802.11 a/b/g/n or 802.20 (or a combination of 802.11x and 802.20 orother protocols consistent with the present disclosure), all or aportion of the Internet, another communication network, or a combinationof communication networks. The communication network can communicatewith, for example, Internet Protocol (IP) packets, frame relay frames,Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cells, voice, video, data, or otherinformation between network nodes.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinventive concept or on the scope of what can be claimed, but rather asdescriptions of features that can be specific to particularimplementations of particular inventive concepts. Certain features thatare described in this specification in the context of separateimplementations can also be implemented, in combination, in a singleimplementation. Conversely, various features that are described in thecontext of a single implementation can also be implemented in multipleimplementations, separately, or in any sub-combination. Moreover,although previously described features can be described as acting incertain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or morefeatures from a claimed combination can, in some cases, be excised fromthe combination, and the claimed combination can be directed to asub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

Particular implementations of the subject matter have been described.Other implementations, alterations, and permutations of the describedimplementations are within the scope of the following claims as will beapparent to those skilled in the art. While operations are depicted inthe drawings or claims in a particular order, this should not beunderstood as requiring that such operations be performed in theparticular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustratedoperations be performed (some operations can be considered optional), toachieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking orparallel processing (or a combination of multitasking and parallelprocessing) can be advantageous and performed as deemed appropriate.

Moreover, the separation or integration of various system modules andcomponents in the previously described implementations should not beunderstood as requiring such separation or integration in allimplementations, and it should be understood that the described programcomponents and systems can generally be integrated together in a singlesoftware product or packaged into multiple software products.

Accordingly, the previously described example implementations do notdefine or constrain the present disclosure. Other changes,substitutions, and alterations are also possible without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Furthermore, any claimed implementation is considered to be applicableto at least a computer-implemented method; a non-transitory,computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions toperform the computer-implemented method; and a computer systemcomprising a computer memory interoperably coupled with a hardwareprocessor configured to perform the computer-implemented method or theinstructions stored on the non-transitory, computer-readable medium.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:receiving a request to create a graph database from one or morerelational databases; for each relational database: identify a set ofdata objects stored in the relational database; and for each data objectin the set of data objects stored in the relational database: create agraph data object that corresponds to the data object; link the graphdata object to the data object using an identifier of the data object;provide a graph data object identifier of the graph data object forlinking the graph data object to the data object; determine a set ofassociated data objects that are associated with the data object; foreach associated data object, create an associated graph data object if agraph data object corresponding to the associated data object does notexist; and for each created graph data object, create a graph datarelation object that represents a relationship between the graph dataobject and the associated graph data object; storing created graph dataobjects, associated graph data objects, and graph data relation objectsin the graph database; providing the graph database to one or moreapplications; identifying a new relationship between a first data objectand a second data object initiated by a first owner of the first dataobject; identifying a second owner of the second data object; sending anapproval request to the second owner for linking, in the graph database,a first graph data object corresponding to the first data object to asecond graph data object corresponding to the second data object;receiving an approval from the second owner in response to the approvalrequest; and linking, in the graph database, the first graph data objectto the second graph data object, based on the approval and the newrelationship.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, comprisingadding one or more properties to the graph data object based on a set ofattributes read from the data object.
 3. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, wherein the one or more relational databases include a firstdatabase for a first application and a second database for a secondapplication, and wherein the computer-implemented method furthercomprises: identifying one or more inter-application relationshipsbetween the first application and the second application that are notrepresented as a foreign key in the first database or the seconddatabase; and for each inter-application relationship, linking, in thegraph database, a first graph data object created from the firstdatabase with a second graph data object created from the seconddatabase.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein thefirst graph data object and the second graph data object are linked witha linking graph data relation object.
 5. The computer-implemented methodof claim 3, wherein the first graph data object and the second graphdata object are linked with an intermediary graph data object.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein providing the graphdatabase to one or more applications comprises: enabling the one or moreapplications to query for inter-application relationships.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: determininga first change to a first data object in a first relational database;identifying a first graph data object corresponding to the first dataobject; and updating the first graph data object based on the firstchange in the first data object.
 8. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, further comprising: determining a first change to a first graphdata object in the graph database; identifying a first data objectcorresponding to the first graph data object; and providing informationfor the first change for updating of the first data object.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein a first relationaldatabase includes data objects of a first type used by a firstapplication, a second relational database includes data objects of asecond type used by a second application, and the graph databaseincludes a first graph data relation object that links a first dataobject of the first type to a second data object of the second type, andwherein the computer-implemented method further comprises: receiving aquery from the first application for objects that are related to thefirst data object; determining, based on identifying the first graphdata relation object, that the second data object of the second type isrelated to the first data object; and providing, in response to thequery, at least an identifier of the second data object, to the firstapplication, to enable the first application to interact with the seconddata object.
 10. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing oneor more instructions executable by a computer system to performoperations comprising: receiving a request to create a graph databasefrom one or more relational databases; for each relational database:identify a set of data objects stored in the relational database; andfor each data object in the set of data objects stored in the relationaldatabase: create a graph data object that corresponds to the dataobject; link the graph data object to the data object using anidentifier of the data object; provide a graph data object identifier ofthe graph data object for linking the graph data object to the dataobject; determine a set of associated data objects that are associatedwith the data object; for each associated data object, create anassociated graph data object if a graph data object corresponding to theassociated data object does not exist; and for each created graph dataobject, create a graph data relation object that represents arelationship between the graph data object and the associated graph dataobject; storing created graph data objects, associated graph dataobjects, and graph data relation objects in the graph database;providing the graph database to one or more applications; identifying anew relationship between a first data object and a second data objectinitiated by a first owner of the first data object; identifying asecond owner of the second data object; sending an approval request tothe second owner for linking, in the graph database, a first graph dataobject corresponding to the first data object to a second graph dataobject corresponding to the second data object; receiving an approvalfrom the second owner in response to the approval request; and linking,in the graph database, the first graph data object to the second graphdata object, based on the approval and the new relationship.
 11. Thenon-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein theoperations further comprise adding one or more properties to the graphdata object based on a set of attributes read from the data object. 12.The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein theone or more relational databases include a first database for a firstapplication and a second database for a second application, and whereinthe operations further comprise: identifying one or moreinter-application relationships between the first application and thesecond application that are not represented as a foreign key in thefirst database or the second database; and for each inter-applicationrelationship, linking, in the graph database, a first graph data objectcreated from the first database with a second graph data object createdfrom the second database.
 13. The non-transitory, computer-readablemedium of claim 12, wherein the first graph data object and the secondgraph data object are linked with a linking graph data relation object.14. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 12, whereinthe first graph data object and the second graph data object are linkedwith an intermediary graph data object.
 15. A computer-implementedsystem, comprising: one or more computers; and one or more computermemory devices interoperably coupled with the one or more computers andhaving tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media storing one ormore instructions that, when executed by the one or more computers,perform one or more operations comprising: receiving a request to createa graph database from one or more relational databases; for eachrelational database: identify a set of data objects stored in therelational database; and for each data object in the set of data objectsstored in the relational database: create a graph data object thatcorresponds to the data object; link the graph data object to the dataobject using an identifier of the data object; provide a graph dataobject identifier of the graph data object for linking the graph dataobject to the data object; determine a set of associated data objectsthat are associated with the data object; for each associated dataobject, create an associated graph data object if a graph data objectcorresponding to the associated data object does not exist; and for eachcreated graph data object, create a graph data relation object thatrepresents a relationship between the graph data object and theassociated graph data object; storing created graph data objects,associated graph data objects, and graph data relation objects in thegraph database; providing the graph database to one or moreapplications; identifying a new relationship between a first data objectand a second data object initiated by a first owner of the first dataobject; identifying a second owner of the second data object; sending anapproval request to the second owner for linking, in the graph database,a first graph data object corresponding to the first data object to asecond graph data object corresponding to the second data object;receiving an approval from the second owner in response to the approvalrequest; and linking, in the graph database, the first graph data objectto the second graph data object, based on the approval and the newrelationship.
 16. The computer-implemented system of claim 15, whereinthe operations further comprise adding one or more properties to thegraph data object based on a set of attributes read from the dataobject.
 17. The computer-implemented system of claim 15, wherein the oneor more relational databases include a first database for a firstapplication and a second database for a second application, and whereinthe operations further comprise: identifying one or moreinter-application relationships between the first application and thesecond application that are not represented as a foreign key in thefirst database or the second database; and for each inter-applicationrelationship, linking, in the graph database, a first graph data objectcreated from the first database with a second graph data object createdfrom the second database.
 18. The computer-implemented system of claim17, wherein the first graph data object and the second graph data objectare linked with a linking graph data relation object.
 19. Thecomputer-implemented system of claim 17, wherein the first graph dataobject and the second graph data object are linked with an intermediarygraph data object.